Junagarh: The people of remote and Maoist threatened Lakhnapada village in this block in Kalahandi district had a surprise Friday when Junagarh MLA Captain Dibya Shankar Mishra visited them. This is the first time an MLA visited the village since Independence.
Mishra talked to the villagers about their problems and sanctioned Rs 10 lakh from his MLALAD fund for the village.
He trekked around four km through the forested, ghat road from Dahiniguda in Budipadar panchayat to reach the village Friday afternoon.
Junior engineer Panada Dilli, former NAC chairperson Mahesh Sahu, block chairperson Pramod Behera and Dinesh Bagarti accompanied Mishra.
Of the funds allotted by Mishra, Rs 2 lakh will be spent on a road from Dahiniguda to Lakhnapada, Rs 5 lakh for construction of a check dam for farmers, Rs 2 lakh on a culvert and Rs 1 lakh for a community hall.
Earlier, a community hall had been constructed in the village with funds sanctioned by Mishra. He assured that road work will be undertaken in Lakhnapada, Bijradar and Beheraguda villages which are remote and inaccessible.
The villagers who have heard only the names of MPs and MLAs were happy when they saw Mishra in their village.
The village is situated about 15 km from Budidar panchayat office and is inhabited by around 250 people belonging to poor families.
Former sub-collectors Manoj Ahuja, Gouri Parasar, BDOs Jagannath Mohanty, Trilochan Mohanty, tehsildars Suryanarayan Dash and Rabindranath Kuanr had visited the village earlier.
However, the villagers continue to face various problems with the Maoist threat making their lives difficult.
Former sub-collector Parasar had sanctioned Rs 9 crore for the construction of a road to the village. But the road could not be constructed due to lack of clearance from the forest department. The villagers built a road themselves by slicing a hill September 25.
PNN